Lights Fused Again!

[craft1948]

Some of you may recall that the other week a bulb went in my main living room light fitting and fused all the lights. Straight after that the electrician came round and put me a switch on so's if it happened again all I had to do was flick the switch rather than put in some fuse wire.
Another bulb has just blown in the same light fitting and blown the fuse again.
I've had this 9 bulb light fitting for 2 years, why has it just started tripping the fuse when a bulb blows?

[tonyav]

Could be a problem with light fitting crafty, may be wise to get it changed.

[craft1948]

Oh no tony..................it cost me over £200

[TheHangman]

Because of the weight the internal wiring may be frayed and minor contact will trip the fuse.

[tonyav]

Or get it checked out then crafty, if there is a problem with it a decent electrician may be able to fix the problem.

[craft1948]

Hmmm is is quite heavy, the builder had to put a block of wood across the floor joists in the loft to hang it from...............

[tonyav]

Get it checked out crafty.

[tenrec]

Del Boy and Rodney spring to mind ....

[tonyav]

LOL @ tenrec.

[Old_Geezer]

I hope he fitted a ciruit breaker rather than a switch craft !

If the fitting was properly supported it ought not be an issue for the wiring. However the wiring could be dodgy anyway. Or there may be a dodgy connection causing spikes and blowing the bulb.

As others has suggested, one need to take a look, try all the connections, check things are ok.

Probably not the issue but you have't got something else switching on from time to time and causing spikes on the supply have you ? Boiler/freezer/whatever ?

[EDDIE51]

Our 'Fuse box' is actually a 'consumer unit' trips every time a bulb blows.
Light bulbs have a designed life after which they burn out , so if you bought a set of bulbs at the same time it stands to reason they will blow around the same time. The switch the electrician put in is the same a' safety unit' that trips every time there is a fault , it registers the bulb blowing as a fault so trips the power. The old fashioned fuse box would not trip just for a bulb blowing. That is why the power goes off every time a bulb blows it is the switch tripping the power . Be prepared for the other 7 bulbs to blow soon as they have come to the end of their designed life span.

[craft1948]

Hmm the boiler switches on and off...............when it switches off it actually causes interference on the TV.

[Old_Geezer]

Mine does that on the upstairs radios and TV. But that's mainly radio wave noise.

It sounds as if it is probably the fitting electrical connections (or as pointed out possibly the bulbs).

[craft1948]

Looks like it's another visit from the electrician then :-(

[The Builder]

Crafty ............ if you have an MCB (miniature circuit breaker) instead of a fuse now, it's perfectly normal for it to operate whenever a bulb blows.

No need to worry.

[craft1948]

I just don't understand why it's happening after 2 years Builder.......

[tonyav]

How many bulbs have gone then in this light fitting just lately, crafty ?.

[tonyav]

Is that how old the bulbs are then 2 years old.

[craft1948]

No the light fitting is 2 years old...............changing bulbs is a regular occurence.

[EDDIE51]

Craft as I said we have the same type of 'Fuse box' (actually a residual current device) it trips EVERY time a bulb blows , we just reset it by clicking the switch then it is fine until a bulb blows again. If you try to reset the switch and it trips again instantly or will not reset then there is another problem, other wise it is just the tiny extra current that flows for a few micro seconds as the bulb blows. These units are very sensative to even a tiny short circuit that happens for a fraction of a second when a bulb blows, they are a safety device they will not let enough current flow to injure you if you accidently touch a live wire . The old fashioned fuse box could deliver enough current to kill you .

[tonyav]

As builder says nothing to worry about, although it is a pain in the butt keep having to replace bulbs. But for your own peace of mind get it looked at, it is most likely something really simple.